Prevalence and Effects of Knots in Young Loblolly Pine

Eight-year-old open-pollinated progenies from selected trees used in a seed orchard had more desirable branch characters than offspring of comparison trees chosen as the best crop trees in the stand. There was considerable uniformity in branch diameter, number of branches, branch angle, and knot volume percent within each family investigated, underlining the inheritance of these characters. Branch diameter was greater in the fastest growing trees, in trees with steeper branch angles, and in trees with smaller numbers of branches. The knot volume of the 8-year-old trees comprised 1 percent of the volume inside bark. The top merchantable bolt contained 12 percent knot plus compression wood, with bolts immediately below and above this having 11 and 14 percent, respectively. A method for assessment of branchiness, in which branches above 1.0 inch diameter are counted, was developed and tested.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member